The publication of INVISIBLE MAN bisects this biography. Those pages that recount Ellison's life before 1952 are fascinating; the book is a real page-The publication of INVISIBLE MAN bisects this biography. Those pages that recount Ellison's life before 1952 are fascinating; the book is a real page-turner in the early chapters. After recounting the publication of Ellison's masterpiece, however, the narrative grows somewhat stale. I do not attribute this flatness to any failing on Rampersad's part (his two-volume biography of Langston Hughes is excellent). Rather, Ellison's social aspirations, his endless awards, his (often token) participation on elite committees and boards (inc. Colonial Williamsburg) are among the things that consumed him after INVISIBLE MAN was released. Reading about those aspects of his life was less interesting than learning about his early life in Oklahoma City, his days at Tuskegee or the crafting of his novel. Ellison's achievements as an essayist and his frustration in completing a second novel are the most compelling aspects of the biography's latter chapters. These chapters raise important questions about a writer's craft in general and Ellison's relationship to African Americans and younger African-American writers in particular.

I greatly appreciated the care Rampersad took in portraying the evolving relationship between Ellison and his second wife Fanny and was interested to learn about the couple's residences in Harlem and elsewhere.

Students of literature should find much to enjoy in this informative, thought-provoking biography....more